Recommended for fans of books like The light of eternal spring by Angel Di Zhang and Banyan moon by Thao Thai. It was confusing because the timelines would switch at random, and the back and forth jumps meant most of the character development was lost. But, bored and unfulfilled both matrimonially and professionally, Eleanor soon has an affair with a colleague. Thank you NetGalley and Zando Projects, SJP Lit for accepting my request to read and review A Quitters Paradise. This pattern of lying and hiding started when she was a teenager, telling her parents she won second place in a science fair when in reality the judges were unimpressed with her entry.

A Quitter's Paradise, debut novel of Elysha Chang, follows a young woman's journey to make sense of herself, to find who she is and what she wants, and to process the grief she holds inside her heart after the death of her mother. Here, the themes include family fractures, working-class and undocumented immigrant lives, miscarriage (though underexplored), self-knowledge, parental expectations, and loss. A riveting, wise, and singular novel about grief, love, longing, and the mysteries of family, A Quitter’s Paradise will linger in your heart and mind. I thought that the novel started strong yet the plot felt a bit meandering at times, acquiring a more contemplative nature towards the end. Penny, Eleanor’s former supervisor, disapproves of the arrangement because she believes Eleanor is a good scientist who’s not living up to her potential.I struggled to really get invested in this debut that explores the complicated mother-daughter relationship between an Asian American immigrant and her daughter and the grief that comes when she dies unexpectedly. The Liu's family rhythm is seared with absences, mistrust, discipline and expectations - exposing all the family's fractures. What kept this from being a perfect novel for me is that it tries to cover too much ground (it doesn’t quite manage the pithy restraint of CHEMISTRY or Rachel Khong’s GOODBYE, VITAMIN), and the ending left me scratching my head a bit. It is this Aquino-Marcos meeting that Lito uses to entice his disaffected son, now a middle-aged American journalist. The present time storyline was definitely more engaging, and I wished the book had focused more on that (Eleanor's relationship with her husband, her affair with their co-worker Samir, and the rodent she stole from the lab).

I loved the way the author alternated between current day Eleanor and the stories of her family that explain so much about why she is the way she is. The author uses the same things I've seen in other books -- the children assume their family debt, parents pressure them to pay as well show respect with dignity while paying these bills; don't complain or bring shame -- not further shame, just shame to the family. An impromptu celebration on the beach at sunset with champagne becomes a weekly touchpoint to their lives as they learn more about each other and themselves.While the immigrant experience sections felt a bit clichéd to the core, I found Eleanor parents' backstory (Jing and Rita) very compelling. Their friendship blossoms as they help each other, offering support, hard truths, and loving backup.